Chapter 13
Victor did not attack Nolan.
That would have been simpler.
He looked at his son as if Nolan had ceased to exist.
“You were supposed to keep your mouth shut.”
Nolan laughed nervously.
“For what? So you can bury me with you?”
Victor’s gaze moved toward Serafina.
“You recorded this?”
Serafina did not answer.
Victor looked around.
No visible microphone.
No phone on the table.
His breathing slowed.
He understood.
“If you were recording, you'd want me talking.”
Serafina’s mouth moved almost imperceptibly.
Victor still knew how to read rooms.
That made him dangerous.
He sat.
“You want my confession?”
“No.”
That surprised him.
“I want you to hear your son.”
Victor looked toward Nolan.
Nolan’s confidence disappeared.
Serafina continued.
“For seven years you taught him that survival means betraying whoever becomes inconvenient.”
Victor’s fingers tightened.
“Now you're surprised he learned.”
Nolan stared at his father.
Something broke there.
Not love.
The belief that loyalty had ever existed.
Victor finally spoke.
“I protected this family.”
Serafina’s eyes sharpened.
“You protected your control.”
“Same thing, sometimes.”
“No.”
Her voice remained quiet.
“That is what men like you tell yourselves after everyone else pays.”
Victor leaned forward.
“You think the capos love you?”
“I don't need them to.”
“You think Lorenzo was better?”
Serafina said nothing.
Victor smiled bitterly.
“He built ORCHARD with me.”
“I know.”
“He used it.”
“I know.”
“He wanted power too.”
“I know.”
Victor’s expression shifted.
He had expected denial.
Serafina gave him none.
Lorenzo had not been perfect.
That no longer protected Victor.
Nolan suddenly spoke.
“Tell her what Lorenzo said before we left.”
Victor turned.
“Shut up.”
Nolan’s eyes filled with something close to hatred.
“No.”
Serafina waited.
Nolan looked at her.
“Lorenzo told him if he survived, Victor would lose everything.”
Victor stood.
Nolan kept talking.
“And Dad said—”
Victor slammed one hand onto the table.
“Enough.”
The door behind Serafina opened.
Anthony entered.
Then Claire.
Then two independent attorneys.
Victor’s face changed.
Serafina had never needed a confession.
She needed him to believe she did.
While Victor focused on the room, Claire had been finalizing the financial evidence and Nolan’s earlier statement with counsel.
Victor looked at Serafina.
For the first time, his voice lost certainty.
“What have you done?”
May you like
Serafina stood.
“Moved without asking your permission.”
